The UK Ministry of Defense was hacked and the country is reportedly blaming China

China is accused of hacking the UK Ministry of Defense’s payroll system. O BBC It is Sky News report that the serious data breach exposed the personal information of active-duty military personnel and veterans. The information mainly consists of full names and bank details, but in some cases may also include personal addresses.

Affected individuals are being notified, and Defense Secretary Grant Shapps is expected to provide MPs with a more detailed update today. He is expected to outline an action plan to protect anyone whose data has been compromised. All salaries must be paid normally this month.

In a statement, China’s foreign minister said the country “firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyber attacks” and “rejects the political use of this issue to defame other countries.” However, this is not the first time that the UK and China clashed on security issues. In March, UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden accused China of being behind an August 2021 Electoral Commission hack, as O BBC reported at the time. O UK also banned TikTok – owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance – from all government devices in March 2023, citing protective measures.